PETALING JAYA: The police will get RM450mil for new quarters and a new state headquarters, but more funds are needed for maintenance of dilapidated quarters as well, say former police officers.
“More should have been allocated for police housing, especially in big cities.
“With the high cost of living, many police staff members are already tightening their belts and controlling budgets and expenditures.
“On top of that, they are worried about finding proper accommodation for their families,” said Retired Senior Police Officers Association of Malaysia (Respa) president Datuk Meor Chek Hussien Mahayuddin.
He also said allocations should have been given to maintain existing police quarters.
“Many quarters are in poor condition. Providing police personnel with sufficient quarters as well as funds for maintenance will motivate them,” he added.
Alliance for Safe Community chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye agreed that more should have been allocated for police housing as many quarters are in poor condition.
“Funds are needed for maintenance given the dilapidated condition of many of these quarters,” he said.
He also said that the purchase of 2,100 bodycams would greatly boost integrity and transparency in the force.
The allocation could ensure accountability by police personnel and counter any baseless allegations against them.
“It will go a long way in increasing public confidence in the police force. However, I hope the cameras will be fully utilised,” he added.
Lee said more should also have been done to take care of the mental health of the men and women in the force.
“Police personnel deal with great stress every day in the course of their duties.
“The government should provide more tools and avenues for them to manage their mental health better like counselling or courses on mental health,” he said.
Meanwhile, Malaysians Against Rape, Assault and Snatch Theft founder Dave Avran suggested that a proper mechanism be implemented to govern procedures for the operation of the body-worn cameras (BWCs).
“BWCs will certainly assist in issues of misconduct, corruption and deaths in custody.
“However, we have to accept that while these tools aid transparency and are the best available neutral evidence, they are not foolproof,” he said, adding that if the cameras are left on at all times, data would accumulate rapidly and storage would become an issue.
He said the traditional method is for the officers to turn on the device when recording and turn it off when they are cleared to do so.
“The best method to follow is the ‘once recorded, it’s recorded’ rule, with every frame encrypted and uploaded in real time to the cloud.
“The only people allowed to view the footage must be verified administrators or higher-ranking police chiefs.
“The system must work similar to a digital evidence room,” Dave said.
